


Enraptured

by Kivea



Category: South Park
Genre: Adults, Alternate Universe - Ballet, Awkward Flirting, Ballet, Ballet Dancer Craig Tucker, Comedy, F/M, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Parenthood, Pining, Romantic Comedy, Sexual Tension, this is it this is my masterpiece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28489455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kivea/pseuds/Kivea
Summary: When Kyle agreed to take Nichole and Stan's daughter to her dance class, he wasn't expecting her teacher. He wasn't expecting a man with intense eyes and powerful movements. He wasn't expecting a strict disposition and honestly incredibly attractive physique.He wasn't planning on speaking to the man, either, but the universe had other plans. Plans that he wished didn't leave him so embarrassed.
Relationships: Kyle Broflovski/Craig Tucker, Nichole Daniels/Stan Marsh
Comments: 18
Kudos: 49





	Enraptured

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year everyone!! I know I promised my entry to the cryle zine next, but then I wrote this. 
> 
> You can still find the cryle zine on the Cryle Week tumblr: https://cryleweek.tumblr.com/

Kyle lived in a family neighborhood. The kind with semidetached houses that were two to four bedrooms with gardens and a playground at the end of the street. He lived in the kind of neighborhood where he was the black sheep, single man in a house. 

But he lived there to be close to his friends. His specific friends, who lived four doors down and across the street, with one kid that the three adults doted on enough that it was a miracle she wasn’t growing up to be a spoilt brat. 

Stan and Nichole had moved there once they’d received the somewhat unexpected news that they were expecting. Kyle had moved when she was six months old and the pair of them realized just how woefully unprepared they were. 

“It’s one kid,” he remembered saying. “You’re two adults. You outnumber her.” 

“She just never stops making noise,” Nichole had groaned into her hands. “Just...” 

“You teach,” Stan had argued. “You’re used to this. I haven’t even seen a child in years.” 

Kyle had rolled his eyes at their dramatics and pointedly ignored the part where he taught college students, not toddlers, and agreed to help out. One week after helping he realized that maybe it would just be easier if he lived closer. 

So he moved out of the inner-city, and settled into their quaint little neighborhood. 

Lainey grew up to be just as talkative a child as she was a baby. Her nightly crying became bouts of energy before bed. They signed her up for every physical activity going for her age. 

She settled on ballet. 

Despite being such a constant presence in her life, Kyle had never actually taken her to her class before. He tended to look after her on Friday nights and weekends, when Stan or Nichole would be at work. 

Eventually the task of getting her to class fell on him. 

No one could take her. It was how Kyle wound up helping the small girl get into her . He understood that they needed to be well fitted, but this was a bit much.

“Are you saying bad words again?”

“Don’t repeat them,” he reiterated as he finally got her feet in the shoes. “You know the deal.”

“I won’t, I promise!” she assured with a bright smile and a tap on her nose. “Our little secret!”

“Good girl. Have you got everything?”

“Yup!” she spun round to grab her backpack, butterfly wings flapping as she swung it. “I got my stuff here!”

“And your jacket?”

“Mom said we were going in your car!”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t bring your jacket. Go on, where is it?” 

He stood as he watched her drag her feet to get her jacket, huffing out as she went. As soon as she was close enough he took it off her and held it out for her to put her arms through. 

She pouted. 

“We're going to be late.” 

Jacket on and shoes in place, her mood picked up once they were out the front door. She bounced and danced around as she headed to his car, waiting for him to open the door before she clambered in and fastened her own seatbelt. 

The journey over to the dance studio was filled with the radio, station of her choosing as she sang along to various songs, though Kyle wasn’t sure she always nailed the lyrics. He knew better than to question her though. 

She was tiny. 

He raced her up the stairs after he parked. The clock in the car promised that they were on time – _just –_ as it was barely two minutes before class started. She had a wide smile on her face and energy thrumming in her legs as she bounced at the door to the studio the receptionist had pointed him to. 

He opened the door and felt himself stop in his tracks as all the eyes in the room turned to look at him. 

Lainey seemed unperturbed, seeing one of her friends and waving happily as Kyle lead them both in the room. He wasn’t as unshaken; being in a room full of mothers staring at him wasn’t exactly something he did on a daily basis. 

Why did he feel so _judged_? 

“Get ready, Lainey. We’re just waiting on you.” 

The voice wasn’t one of the mothers. Rather it was male, and when Kyle’s eyes landed on the front of the class where there was a mirror, he saw a man in leggings and a tank top, waiting. 

Was that...her _teacher_?

Lainey discarded her coat, getting Kyle’s attention back on her as she handed it up to him. He fumbled his way through accepting it before attempting to make himself as small as possible in a corner of the room, finding an empty seat that didn’t have anyone else around. He let out a breath of relief as all eyes returned to the kids who were lined up in front of their teacher. 

He felt his throat go dry as his eyes landed back on the man. For some reason he’d expected some lithe, older woman who was warm and soft, but instead…

Instead there was this man, who can’t have been that much older or younger than him, with dark hair and a stern expression. A man who’s muscles rippled impressively as he moved through the actions that his students copied, eyes piercing and Kyle wished he could get close enough to match an eye color, if just so he could wax poetic about it.

He was feeling a little hot under the collar. Did they have the heating on too high? 

It was a buzzing in his pocket that had his eyes pulled away from the man and he scrambled for his phone, pleased for the distraction. 

From Stan, checking that he’d been able to get Lainey to class without a problem. 

He spent the better part of the next hour attempting to distract himself with his phone. When the class finished it was with the clap of the teacher’s hand and the rush of people moving, and Kyle looked up finally to see the parents all beginning to move to collect their children. 

He smiled as he watched Lainey race over to him with a toothy grin that stretched from cheek to cheek. 

“Did you see me?!” 

“I did!” he confirmed. “You were so good!” 

“Do you think so?” 

“Your dad always says you’re such a good dancer. He wasn’t lying.” 

She flourished under the praise and held her arms out for her coat. 

He helped her get ready, though she got distracted as one of her friends approached to give her a hug goodbye on her way out. With her eyes off him, he found his gaze drifting to the front of the room, where her teacher had been. 

Would it be strange, to speak to him? 

He felt his heart sink at the flock of mother’s who had approached the man, taking up his attention. It was…

Not surprising, that he was so popular with the women. He was kind of magnetic to watch.

“Uncle Kyle?”

He snapped his head down to Lainey’s gaze. “Yeah?”

“Do you…want to go say hello?” her honey eyes flickered over to the man. “I can introduce you, you know?”

“He looks very busy.”

“I don’t mind waiting.”

Kyle tugged on her hand to encourage her towards the door. “C’mon, trouble. Let’s go.”

He got her home easily enough, sorting out a snack before helping her get ready for bed. By the time she was brushing her teeth Nichole returned home to finish the job. 

He went to bed thinking about a strong, strict man who moved as fluid as water. 

\--

Spending lunch at the Marsh household wasn’t unusual. He lived in the same neighborhood, and since they had a kid Stan and Nichole had become much more the type of people to spend lunch at home rather than out at a café. 

Sometimes he felt like he was a third parent, the way that he ended up funneling so much of their lifestyle into how he lived, but to him it was normal. When he had been at university, Stan had adopted a similar lifestyle. It was no surprise that he would do the same when his best friend became a dad. 

Even so a lot of his time was spent with Nichole, helping her out on the weekends. That particular day was seen him sat at the island counter as she prepared lunch, chattering away together like normal as music played through their kitchen speaker. 

“Thanks for taking Lainey to ballet this week,” Nichole started. “I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.” 

“It’s no worries. It wasn’t as boring as I thought it would be, though I could’ve done without the judging stares of the other mothers.” 

She laughed at that. “I can imagine. At least it’s not all bad. Her teacher’s pretty nice, you’d probably get on well with him!” 

It was in the way she said it. The way she didn’t look at him and tried to seem like it wasn’t a big deal. Like she was trying too hard. 

It was suspicious. 

Kyle glared across the table. “What did she say?”

“What do you mean?” Nichole asked with a false-innocent smile.

“Lainey. What did she say?”

“She just mentioned that you were pretty interested in her teacher.”

“Nichole-!”

“It’d be nice, Craig’s a good guy, you have a opening point-!”

“He was swarmed by desperate women at the end of class, the last thing he needs is a desperate man added to the mix.”

“Maybe it’ll be refreshing. A welcome change.”

“Your obsession with my love life is unhealthy,” Kyle muttered. “Do I need to tell Stan to pick up on the romance? Is he neglecting you, is that why you’re so invested?”

“Sure, he can take me on a whirlwind date and you can have Lainey. Shall we say, Thursday night?”

He snorted in amusement at her suggestion. “I’ll take her any night, and I’ll take her to practice, and I’ll stay as far away from her teacher as I possibly can.”

Nichole huffed out and finally dropped the knife she was using to prepare the sandwiches in order to give him her undivided attention. “Is it that you’re nervous? I don’t mind introducing you. I’ve been taking Lainey long enough that he knows who I am.” 

"Drop it, Nichole.” 

“Fine, I will. For now! But I’m not dropping your offer to take her every Thursday,” she announced. “The idea of being able to have a day to ourselves every week is kind of nice.” 

“I knew it. He’s totally neglecting you.” 

Two days later, he did receive a call from Stan asking if Kyle had been serious about taking Lainey to ballet practice every week. The sheer enthusiasm in his best friend’s voice had him saying yes, not that he needed that much of a push. His Thursdays weren’t exactly the busiest day of his week. 

It was how he ended up being Lainey’s chaperone, though the second time he managed to get them there five minutes early instead of scraping the idea of ‘on time’. 

He didn’t make a move to interact with any of the mothers that were there, and they made no real move to interact with him, either. Maybe it was the way that he spent most of his time glued to his phone, or maybe they caught the way that he looked at the dark-haired beauty at the front of the room, like he wanted to take a bite out of him. 

Not that he did. Of course. 

At the end of class Lainey would come running over to him, and he’d watch as the guy got mobbed by mothers at the front of the class. Lainey’s friend – who he discovered was called Jessica, and who’s mother was called Lola – was probably the only other person who he spoke to in the room. 

It became part of his weekly routine. Three weeks in a row pretty much promised a permeant structure. 

It also became routine for Nichole to ask every Saturday if he’d spoken to Craig yet, and Kyle denied knowledge of who this ‘Craig’ was every time. 

He never planned on saying anything to the guy. Never planned on bothering him, adding to the attention he already received. Quite happy to sit in his corner and admire him from afar, a little bit less subtly every week. Watch him cycle through tank tops and well-fitting leggings, shorts, and sportswear, closet full of black and blue. 

He never planned on saying anything until he was walking through the park with a coffee in one hand and his phone out in the other, flicking through work emails as he made his way to the college building he taught at. He wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, swearing under his breath as the same student who always asked for extensions had sent him an email, two days before her assignment was due, asking if she could have another one. 

He was going to fail her if it was the last thing he did. 

He jumped out his skin as he turned a corner and nearly collided head first with someone. His coffee slipped and that became his first priority, dropping his phone in order to get better hold of it, only to realize that he’d _dropped his fucking phone-_

The person he collided with caught it before it hit the ground. He looked up as the person stood, a person with steely grey eyes that looked down at him and swept-back hair, dressed in running gear, taking out the earphones as they handed Kyle’s phone back to him. 

Craig. Craig the ballet teacher. Craig the ballet teacher, dressed for a run, standing directly in front of him waiting for him to take his phone. 

“It’s you.”

Not his smoothest introduction, he’d admit. 

The man raised a brow and took out one earbud. “Excuse me…?”

“You’re – sorry, you’re Lainey’s ballet teacher, I just-!”

A flicker of recognition crossed the man’s face. “You’re the one who started bringing her to practice.”

“I am,” he nodded and dimly remembered to take his phone back from the waiting hand as he babbled. “Her parents have decided to make Thursday’s date night, so I’m her new taxi.”

“Her parents,” the man nodded his head and took out his second earbud. “Right. So if you’re not her dad, you must be her weird gay uncle?”

He spluttered at the description.

The man smirked. “Her words, not mine.”

“Bisexual. We’re – she called me weird?”

“Yeah,” there was a lopsided smile of amusement on the man’s face, a flash of teeth. “She did.”

“I’m not that weird. Wait – what else did she-?”

“Something about you knowing all the bad words, but she promised she wouldn’t tell anyone, and that’s why you get ice cream after practice every time.”

Kyle shut his eyes and pulled in a calming breath as he mentally reminded himself it was wrong to punch children.

“That’s it, really.”

“I can’t believe she outed me like this.”

“If it makes you feel any better, it was in response to something I said.”

Kyle raised a brow. “Something you…”

He shrugged it off with a little embarrassment. “I said a bad word, and she happened to hear it. So she said her Uncle Kyle says those words all the time.”

“She exaggerates.”

“I’m sure.”

Kyle tried to ignore the way his ears burnt at the look he was receiving, bringing his coffee closer to his chest. “I’m sorry for – for running into you like that-?” 

“Don’t worry about it, dude. I think it was more me who did the running.” 

“You’ve got better legs for it.” 

The man raised his brows. 

Kyle panicked. “Right, yeah, so I’m gonna go, and do – my work. I was on the way to work.” 

“Sure.” 

“I was, I swear.” 

“I believe you.” 

He really didn’t sound like he did, but he made no effort to stop Kyle’s awkward shuffle around him. Rather Craig followed his movements, turning to watch Kyle walking backwards towards the park exit. 

“This was great, meeting you properly.” 

“What, nearly dropping your coffee?” 

“But I didn’t!” Kyle gave a laugh that sounded far too nervous. “So that’s a win!” 

_ That’s a win?  _

_ What in the fresh fuck, Kyle?!  _

“Bye!”

He didn’t wait to hear a response from the man. He spun round and continued to walk towards his class, slipping his phone into his pocket and promising himself not to look at it for the rest of his walk. 

This was why he didn’t want to speak to the man in front of a dozen mothers all watching his every move. Because his moves were anything but smooth. 

\--

After the incident at the park, the idea of seeing the man again that Thursday was daunting. He was half tempted to tell Stan and Nichole that he was busy, couldn’t take her this week, maybe the next, but he knew that if he let himself avoid it this week it would just be harder the next. 

So he found himself helping Lainey into her ballet shoes, forcing a smile on his face as she prattled on about how she’d been practicing super hard that week. He drove them to the dance studio and parked his car, feeling his nerves skyrocket as they walked up the stairs to the room where the class was held. 

He opened the door and let her in, pleased to see that Craig the ballet teacher was speaking to another student as they entered the room, giving him the freedom to run to his corner of the room to hide. 

He took Lainey’s coat and encouraged her to head to her friends, unsurprised as Lola came and sat next to him once she’d arrived with Jessica. He found she was a quieter woman, or at least less of a conversationalist than some of them, as she was quite happy to sit next to him and be on her own phone. If the glare she occasionally exchanged with another woman across the room was anything to go by, he would bet that there was some Mother Drama happening around him. 

The class started, and Kyle struggled to keep his eyes in his phone. 

Craig was strict. He was strict, but he wasn’t unkind. Kyle liked to think that he was beginning to pick up on some of the terminology that the dancers used the more he came. 

Whenever the man looked over in his direction, catching his eyes, Kyle would look away with a flush of embarrassment as he remembered the utter _travesty_ that was their last meeting. 

But he wasn’t going to be let off that easily. As Craig brought the class to an end Kyle stood and prepared to sweep Lainey up and escape as quickly as he could. She allowed him to put her coat on, and he asked if she was ready to go. Once he got an answer, he gave one last glance at the front of the room. 

Craig was already looking at him. 

He stuttered as the man raised a hand, waving from across the room. He raised his own hand as if to respond as he tried to school his face into something that wasn’t complete panic. He was going for something along the lines of, friendly smile, but he had a feeling it was more of a grimace.

Lainey just _had_ to comment on it. 

“He waved at you.”

“I’m aware,” he grit out through his smile.

“Are we gonna go over?”

“I…” he felt a wave of embarrassment hit him at the suggestion, watching as Craig’s attention was once again taken by one of the mothers in his circle. “I don’t want to…”

“Come _on_ , Uncle Kyle. Let’s go over!”

He allowed himself to be dragged to the front of class, and felt a rush of satisfaction when the steely eyes left the woman who was speaking at him in favor of moving to meet Kyle and Lainey, a lopsided smile gracing his face.

“Hey,” Craig greeted. “If it isn’t Lainey and her Weird Uncle.”

Kyle huffed out. “Fu-mm-!”

Lainey squeezed his hand and gave him a disapproving look.

“Yeah, it’s us,” he said instead. “I hope we aren’t bothering you?”

“You saved me, honestly. Keep talking and hopefully they’ll get bored and go back to their husbands.”

Kyle gave a start of laughter. “That bad, huh?”

“Attentions flattering and all, but they’re really not my type.”

He bit back the question of _what is your type, then?_

He bit back a little too much. It ended with them staring at each other, waiting for the conversation to come.

It was Lainey who broke the silence. “Uncle Kyle is taking me for ice cream. Do you want to come?”

“Lainey.”

“What?” she whispered back behind her hand far too loud. “You weren’t going to ask.”

“That’s not-!” he flushed at the implication. “Craig’s probably got better things to do than come sit in some McDonald’s with us for ice cream.”

“You would know, if you asked.”

He looked up to see the ballet teacher watching them with an amused smile. One dark brow twitched in amusement, waiting.

Kyle swallowed the lump in his throat and forced the words out his mouth. “Do you…want to come for ice cream? It’d save you from the vultures. Not that that’s what they are.”

“That’s definitely what they are.”

“Yeah, but they might still be in hearing shot so I don’t wanna push my luck.”

Craig let out a low chuckle that sent sparks running through Kyle’s fingertips. “Sure, I could go for ice cream, if you don’t mind waiting for me to change.”

“We don’t mind. We don’t have anywhere to be. Other than McDonald’s.”

They watched as he disappeared to the front, the room mostly empty now. He watched as the last few mothers left, eyeing him up and down as they did so. He was beginning to think maybe talking to the ballet teacher put him at more health risk than just his own  hormones. 

He and Lainey moved outside to wait at Craig’s suggestion, waiting in the steadily emptying car park for him to appear. Kyle tried to focus in on Lainey as she demonstrated all the positions she knew for ballet, and how graceful she was with them, though it was difficult to focus in on anything with how nervous he was. 

Eventually the door opened and her teacher stepped out. His breath caught in his throat as he looked up and stood, attempting to smooth out his jacket as the man, who clearly cared a lot more about his appearance than Kyle did his own, approached them. Kyle wasn’t sure what to focus on. 

He sure as hell didn’t look like a ballet dancer once he was out of his dance wear. Between the leather jacket, blue hoodie, and dark jeans. As he approached Kyle noticed a piece of jewelry glinting in the street lights around the carpark. 

“You have a…”

Craig followed his gaze with his fingers, settling on the metallic grey ring in his ear. “Piercing?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, I take it out while I dance. I have a tattoo, too, but it’s hidden where you can’t see it through my leotard.”

Kyle gave a low hum to fill the silence as his brain raced with the possibilities of where that might be.

“Shall I follow you, then?”

“Yes,” Kyle gestured to his car. “That’s me. I’ll wait for you to…”

Craig jabbed a thumb in the direction of a motorbike. “That’s me.”

_ Of course. Of course the insanely graceful and incredibly attractive ballet teacher had a fucking motorbike. _

“Woah,” Lainey murmured low as she looked over at the vehicle. “Can I-?”

“No,” Kyle scolded. “You can’t.”

Craig laughed at her pout. “Sorry, but I’ve only got one helmet. And my other one ain’t made for kids.”

Kyle declined commenting on how if either of them were going to enjoy sitting behind Craig on a motorbike, it was going to be him. 

The journey to the fast food restaurant was familiar, and he was pleased to see Craig parking the bike and removing his helmet before following them inside. There was something strange about standing at the electronic screen to pick out their order with an extra person.

Lainey jumped up and down as she selected her choice, before spinning to Craig with a bright smile. “What do you want, Mr Craig?”

“Oh, uh-!” Craig glanced up to Kyle. “I-?”

“Whatever you want, my treat.”

“Alright, then.”

Kyle waited for the pair of them to finish before he stepped forward and put his own in, paying for the three ice-creams. Lainey told him that he could collect them while she found a seat with Craig, before taking her teacher’s hand and dragging him off to a table. 

He took the chance to practice some breathing exercises to try and calm himself down. And remind himself how much he did need oxygen. 

He got to the table they’d picked to find Lainey already chatting away to Craig, who listened dutifully to her. She stopped only to accept her ice-cream as Kyle placed it on the table before he took a seat next to her. 

He looked up to see steely grey eyes on him. It caused him to forget all about that oxygen bullshit. 

“Uncle Kyle is a teacher too!” Lainey announced as a convention starter. 

“Yeah?” Craig looked up with a raised brow. 

“Uh, yeah,” he shrugged. “I’m a college professor.”

Craig paused. 

Kyle panicked. “It’s not – it probably sounds a lot fancier than it is.”

“He’s super smart!” Lainey boasted. “He always helps me out with my homework.”

“You’re tiny, your homework is easy.”

“Only because you’re super smart.”

Kyle went to change the subject. Craig didn’t let him. 

“What do you teach?”

“Oh, uh, history,” he admitted. “I’m a history professor.”

“That’s pretty heavy.”

“It’s just a lot of dates and memorizing, really,” he assured as he cleared his throat. “Do you work at the studio full time?”

Craig shrugged. “Sort of. I’m a dancer too, but I run their kids ballet classes. One of the older dancers in my company does the adult class.”

“So you perform? In big shows and stuff?”

Craig laughed. “I wouldn’t call them big, but I guess. We travel, sometimes.”

“I’d love to be a dancer,” Lainey gave a wistful sigh. “I want to perform on a big stage, in front of loads of people…”

“If you keep up working hard, maybe you will,” Craig assured. “You’re a good dancer.”

Talking to Craig was easy. While strict with his students, and apathetic with his expressions, when he was sat here with Kyle and Lainey he seemed to actively try. He was soft with her, in a way that Kyle had seen him be with the other kids when they spoke to him. Maybe not the most enthusiastic, but that was okay. 

That suited Kyle fine. 

Kyle felt like he was the most awkward one at the table. Lainey carried the conversation for him, which he was eternally grateful for and would be sure not to mention to Nichole, ever. As much as he felt like she had dragged her teacher out with them for Kyle, she seemed to genuinely have wanted to talk to him. 

“I should go,” Craig mused as he looked at his watch, ice-creams long finished. “It's getting late. I’m meant to be up early tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Kyle tried not to sound too disappointed. “Right, yeah. Thanks for joining us.”

“Thanks for saving me.”

“We’ll walk out with you.”

“You don’t have to-!”

“It’s fine,” Kyle insisted. “She does have a bedtime, I just like to take liberties with it. I mean, sometimes, not – I’m not irresponsible or anything-!”

“Kyle.”

He snapped his mouth shut and looked up at the smile adorning Craig’s face.

“You…ramble a lot, huh?”

“Only when I’m nervous.”

“Do I make you nervous?”

The opening was there. He was sure he wasn’t imagining it. The playful tilt to his voice, that bordered on flirtatious. He…

He swallowed a lump in his throat before answering with: “Yes, but in a good way.”

They walked him out, back to the carpark where his motorcycle waited and stood by his side as he prepared his helmet. Kyle was prepared to say goodbye for the night, but Craig turned with a tenseness in his expression and addressed him once more. 

“You know, I’ve got a performance on at the theatre over the weekend,” Craig started. “I’m given, like, tickets for the matinée, for family, but I never used them. You can have them, if you want?”

“Is that…okay?” Kyle pressed. “To give them to us?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. They’re not the best tickets, because they’re free, but they’re going spare.”

Kyle glanced down at Lainey, who’s eyes were practically sparkling with excitement when they met his. “Well? Do you wanna go to the ballet?”

“Can we really?!” she rushed. “Can we go?”

“We have to check with your parents first, but if they say yes…”

“Yes please!” she gushed. “Please, please, please!”

He turned back to Craig. “Guess you’ll see us there.”

“Great,” Craig nodded and pulled out his phone. “Give me your number, and I’ll text you with the details and email the tickets over tomorrow.”

Kyle tried not to think too hard about it as he plugged his number into the smartphone, tried not to smile too wide when he handed it back to Craig who had secured his helmet and was hidden. They stepped back and headed for the car as Craig mounted his bike. 

Kyle tried not to look too hard at the man, all strength and legs, sitting on that bike preparing to go home. 

Lainey talked his ear off the whole ride home. She even turned the radio down just so she could gush over the chance to go and see a real-life ballet performance. He had no idea what to expect, he’d honestly never seen one either, but she was excited enough for them both. 

When he got her home Stan and Nichole were both there, and Lainey outed them immediately. 

They said yes, at least. 

\--

Lainey dressed up. She put on her best outfit, her most favorite headband, and her pretty doll shoes that she claimed were her ‘big heels’. They were the tallest shoes she owned, even if they were only a few centimetres tall. Kyle ended up stuck in some limbo, unsure exactly how formal theatre attendees actually dressed, but wanting to make his almost-niece have the best afternoon of her life. 

When they arrived, it was clear that people didn’t quite go as formal as he feared. Maybe it was because it wasn’t an evening performance, but he was glad they weren’t going to stick out as scruffy. 

Craig had texted him the tickets, along with an apology that he wouldn’t be able to see them before the show. Kyle wasn’t surprised. 

His texts were brief and direct. They suited him.

Their tickets landed them on the balcony just to the side, and they stacked their jackets on Lainey’s chair to give her a boost to see over the barrier. He could see why they might not be the most expensive tickets with the angle they got of the stage, but for them? They had a clear enough view, with no one in front of them, that they couldn’t argue at all. 

Lainey sat with the program Kyle had bought her in her hands, getting him to read out the synopsis as they waited for the show to start. 

Once the lights began to dim she shushed him, all but bouncing in her seat as she leant forward to get a better look of the stage. 

The curtains rose. He sucked in a breath. 

Ballet wasn’t Kyle’s forte. He was glad he’d been reading the synopsis to Lainey, because he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to follow the story that was behind the dances if he hadn’t. It was a bunch of people dancing on a stage, how was he meant to follow a story to that? Sure, they danced very well, and he knew the story so he understood what all the dramatic expressions were, but he wouldn’t have been able to just guess. 

Maybe he’d get better at it, the more he came. Or maybe the point was that you knew the story beforehand. 

It took him a little while to pick Craig out. A lot of the focus had been on the lead female dancer for some time, and her male counterpart was blonde, so it definitely wasn’t him. It was easy to get distracted by the intricate sets and fancy costumes, beyond anything else. 

He understood why he hadn’t been able to pick Craig out once he did. He’d not been one of the dancers so far; he was the villain of the fairy tale. 

It suited him. Oddly well. The powerful movements, the intensity of his expression, the way he commanded the stage. Kyle was left feeling breathless as the man performed his solo and thanked the heavens that Craig apparently had decided not to invite anyone else to see him dance because this was a moment that Kyle wanted to capture for himself and keep forever. 

Lainey looked up at him with wide brown eyes that sparkled with the lights. “Is that...?” 

“I think so,” he confirmed. “That’s your teacher.” 

“Oh,” she looked back with a reverence. “Do you think...one day I’ll be that good?” 

“Yeah, I do.” 

He thought that, maybe, his attraction to the dark-haired man played into his appreciation of how he danced, because Kyle didn’t get quite the same awe-inspired feeling from the other dancers. He wasn’t an expert who could say who danced technically the best; to him, they were all pretty otherworldly, but Craig was the one who stood out the most. 

He was left at one point with that infectious memory in his brain of when Craig admitted he had a tattoo. Looking at the well-fitting leotard, he felt a little uncomfortable sitting next to his charge as his imagination plagued him with where the hell the illusive tattoo was hidden. 

When the curtain call came, Lainey was on her feet cheering for them. When she turned to him after everyone started rising from their seats he gave a bark of joyful laughter at the excitable look on her face. 

“Do we wait around?” Lainey asked. “Can we see him?”

“I…don’t know,” Kyle admitted. “I’m not sure how these things work, honestly.”

She deflated a little at that. “Can you ring him?” 

“I can, but he might be busy. We’ll see him on Thursday, though, after your class?” 

That perked her up a little bit. 

He still withdrew his phone, opening to try find Craig’s contact number, but found a message already sat there waiting. 

_ Wait in the foyer for me.  _

They did as they were instructed, and Lainey took advantage of the fancy grand stairs to demonstrate her dancing once again, singing along to fractured snippets of the music they had heard in the ballet. Kyle watched her go, giving vague excuses to the staff who would approach and ask what they were doing, until the place was nearly empty. 

Then he arrived. 

Kyle saw him before Lainey did, emerging from an unmarked door. Maybe it was just a leftover feeling of being star struck, but when he appeared wearing joggers and a t-shirt, eyes still framed by the makeup that he didn’t quite manage to get off his face, hair still styled back well out his face, Kyle felt glued to the spot. 

This man... 

This _beautiful_ man... 

“Hey,” Craig greeted as he approached, and Kyle could tell that he’d been in a rush to get to them with the way he was a little short of breath, and the leftover makeup was smudged at the corner of his eye. “Thanks for waiting.” 

“Sure,” he cleared his throat and attempted to keep his voice steady. “You were – you were really amazing.” 

Craig gave a puff of laughter and shrugged it off. “Thanks, I try. I’m no principle, but I do my job well.” 

“The villain suited you.” 

“Yeah?” Craig’s smile morphed into something a little more sinister. “It’s my specialty.” 

Kyle snorted. “Just that latent mean-streak coming out?” 

“You’ve only seen me in front of children, where I have to act nice. Just wait till I get you alone.” 

Kyle choked on his own tongue as his cheeks began to heat up. 

“Mr Craig!” 

They both looked up to see Lainey rushing down the stairs. 

“Mr Craig, you were amazing! You were so cool! The way you danced around the whole stage! You move so fast!” 

“Thanks, Lainey. Did you enjoy it?” 

“I did! I especially loved that woman! The one in the big, puffy dress! I want to be like her!” 

“Well, if you’re not in a rush, you can come with me. I can’t introduce you to that dancer, but I can introduce you to the stage?” 

Lainey gasped as she looked up to Kyle with wide, puppy-dog eyes. “Can we? Uncle Kyle, please, please-?” 

“Sure,” he agreed with a laugh. “We’re in no rush.” 

Lainey couldn’t stop from running as Craig lead her towards the doors to the main stage. Kyle had to grab her arm, pulling her back to walk between them to avoid being knocked over by an employee. Despite the fact there were no dancers or people, there was still a low thrum of energy to the room as people dressed in black uniforms moved around and cleaned the seats. 

“They’re preparing for the evening performance. We don’t have long, I had to threaten the stage manager to let us in.” 

“Threaten?” 

He shrugged. “Like I said, you’ve only seen me when I have to be nice.” 

Craig gave Lainey strict instruction to remain at the front of the stage before Kyle let her go. They watched her rush up the stairs and head straight to the very middle at the very front, looking out across the seats with wonder. 

Kyle’s heart grew ten sizes bigger. 

“I told them I wanted to let my best student experience being on a stage for the first time,” Craig admitted. “She’ll be a great dancer, one day.” 

“I really appreciate it. I have a feeling this’ll only make her want it even more.” 

“Good. She’s gonna need that drive. It’s not going to be an easy goal, for her. She’s not your typical, petite, white beauty that usually get to be principal dancers. She’ll have to work really hard.” 

Kyle curled in on himself a little as he watched the girl perform those positions that she’d taught him a couple of weeks before. “Nichole was a bit worried about her doing it, at first.” 

“She’s talented. I think she can do it.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Definitely.” 

“Mr. Craig!” 

Kyle watched her spin round and look over them with a wide, toothy grin. 

“One day, can I dance up here with you?!” 

He smirked up at her. “By the time you’re a dancer, I’ll be retired.” 

She pouted. 

“But maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll be your choreographer.” 

“Yes!” she pumped her fist as she jumped up and down. “My choreographer! Mine!” 

They left five minutes later, biding a goodbye and heading to Kyle’s car to return to their neighborhood. 

She was napping by the time they got back despite how early it was, and he had to wake her up to get her into the house, with the promise of dinner and a movie. 

Once she was awake and in the house with her dad asking how it had been, she was all energy once again as she recounted the whole afternoon, _especially_ how she got to stand on the very same stage that the really pretty lady got to stand on. 

\--

The next Thursday, Kyle didn’t take Lainey to class. He ended up staying behind at work, grading papers instead of sitting in the dance studio. He needed the quiet of his office to concentrate, rather than taking them home to do, or in the studio where he was sure to get distracted. 

His Friday night wasn’t much more exciting. Once he got the last one done and left the college building, long after darkness, he made a beeline for the Marsh house, with the promise of leftover dinner and a couple of drinks. Nichole was putting Lainey to bed when he arrived, and he snuck into the living room as quietly as he could so not to alert her to his presence. The last thing he needed was an energetic six-year-old demanding he read her a bedtime story. 

He’d done enough reading. 

Stan warmed up the leftovers and brought them to Kyle on the couch, kicking his feet to tell him to wake up. Not that he was asleep. Just resting his eyes. They had some peace between the two of them as Kyle ate his food and Stan turned on the TV, waiting for his wife to join them. 

Nichole hadn’t even been in the room five seconds before she was on his case. 

“I spoke to Lainey’s ballet teacher yesterday.”

Kyle cast a pleading look across to his best friend, who promptly stood up from his armchair and made to leave the room. 

“Stan!”

“I’ve already said I’m staying out of it,” Stan announced. “She wanted me to talk to you first.”

“Because you’re a good friend who should care about his happiness!” Nicole shouted after him. 

Stan raised a hand, waving off the suggestion, before disappearing to get them drinks from the kitchen. 

Kyle tensed as Nichole pinned her eyes on him, but spoke firmly. “You know what that was? A sign that he’s learnt to stay out of my business. You should follow his lead.”

“He asked after you.”

“What? Who?”

“You know who; Craig! I went to get Lainey and spoke to him after and he asked how you were.”

Despite the flutter in his chest, Kyle’s response was: “So?”

“So he’s totally interested in you. It was in the way he said it. You could tell.”

Kyle flushed at the implication and tried not to sound hysterical when he gave a dry laugh. “I’m not sure I’m really his type.”

“Why, because he rides a motorbike and ‘is super cool’?”

“Uh, _yes_?” Kyle ran a hand across his face as he remembered the look of the other man straddling the bike. “He has piercings. Or, at least one. And a tattoo.”

“He has a tattoo? Where the hell-?”

“I don’t know, but he said it was where you couldn’t see it under his leotard, and it’s haunted me ever since.”

She laughed at his expense. “I think he gets to decide who his type is, Kyle.”

“Ugh. You think it’s gonna be me? Some bland college Professor?”

“It sounded like it, with the way he asked.”

Kyle flushed at the implication and set his empty plate down on the coffee table as Stan returned with three bottles, caps off. 

He turned to Stan with purpose. “You’re neglecting her again. That’s why she’s all up in my business.” 

Stan scoffed. “She’s up in your business because you’re fucking awful with romance, dude. Don’t try to pin it on me.” 

Nichole preened with the words that proved her right, in some way. 

“Lay off, babe, you’re gonna make him combust if you’re not careful.” 

Kyle groaned at the horrible, terrible support that his _best friend in the whole world_ gave him. 

“Fine, fine,” Nichole accepted. “I’ll drop it. I just wanted to let him know, that Craig asked after him, that’s all.” 

The three of them spent the night in front of the TV until Kyle was passed out on their couch. He woke up the next morning still there, with a blanket thrown over him, and the sound of Lainey whispering loudly to her dad as they got her ready to go to her friend’s house. 

As probing as Nichole could be, and unhelpful as Stan was, he really, really loved them. 

\--

He made it to the next Thursday dance class. Nichole and Stan were out on their date, and he was walking up the stairs to the studio with Lainey. Her friend Jessica was already there, and Lola was sat in the corner of the room where Kyle usually took residence with another mother, the pair of them talking in low tones to each other as they watched the kids interact. Kyle sat with them, Lola turning to greet him briefly as he did so. 

The class started, and Kyle found his eyes dragged to Craig more than usual, which was a feat in of itself. After watching him dance on a stage, in full gear, solo at the peak of his ability, watching him guide these kids around various moves and stances was... 

Humbling? 

He couldn’t describe it. 

There were a lot of things about Craig that he couldn’t describe. 

He was a force. A dancer with a gravitational pull that had its hold on Kyle, and wasn’t letting go. 

The class was normal, and finished, and Lainey was with her friends for a little while longer before she looked up at the sound of the door opening, and her eyes lit up and a big smile spread across her face as she turned towards the person who had entered. 

“Mommy!”

Kyle watched as Lainey rushed over to the door, looking up to see the woman enter the room and scoop the child up before she was ran into. He felt his blood run cold as Stan entered the room behind Nichole, and their daughter was quickly changed hands as she scrambled for her dad.

He was on his feet in an instant. 

“What are you doing here?”

“We finished early!” Nichole explained with a bright smile. “So we figured we’d come collect Lainey from practice. Give you a break from babysitting for once.”

“That’s…nice of you,” Kyle said as he narrowed his eyes at his best friend stood behind her, listening to his daughter chatter away about what she’d learnt. “I thought you liked having the night between you both, though?”

Nichole shrugged and put on that false-innocent smile that always put him on edge. “Sure we do, but one night isn’t going to kill us. Besides…”

He didn’t miss the way her eyes flickered to the front of the class.

“Lainey’s mentioned the three of you usually go out after class, so I thought it might be extra nice if it was just the two of you, this time.”

“Nichole-!”

“Don’t be a pussy,” she patted him on the shoulder with a wide grin. “Stop using my daughter as a wingman. You’ll give her a complex.”

“I’m not-!”

“Sure you’re not.”

He stumbled the first few steps after being roughly shoved, glaring over his shoulder at Nichole who turned her attention to Lola and greeted her with a hug. 

He grumbled low as he turned his attention to the front of the class. 

The walk over felt too long. Craig was speaking to one of the mothers, though once his eyes landed on Kyle, his attention for the mother was long gone. He wrapped up the conversation quickly before turning fully to Kyle, glancing over his shoulder to where the Marsh family stood. 

“Lainey’s parents came to get her,” Craig observed. “I thought they were usually busy on Thursdays?”

“Finished early, apparently,” Kyle gave his best, hopefully not-so-awkward smile, and stretched his hands wide. “Just me, today, if you…still wanna go for ice cream. Though, I guess we can go for anything now, seeing as I don’t have to fulfil my promise to take her.”

“Is it a promise, or are you being blackmailed?”

“I feel like I have more control if it’s a promise, and saying I’m being blackmailed by a six year old kind of sounds pathetic.”

Craig snorted. “It does.”

“So do you wanna…go get a drink, or something?” he bit back his fears which begged to be said, assurances that he wouldn’t be offended, that Craig didn’t _have /em >to, that he’d understand. He was trying to ask him out. The last thing he needed was to look even more pathetic._ __

__

“Sure, I know a place. You can follow me, this time.”

__

“I’ll meet you in the parking lot?” 

__

He followed Stan and Nichole out, the latter who was talking to her daughter, the former who was silent next to him as he internally had a gay panic. He was pleased that Stan at least left him to it. 

__

“Good luck,” Stan offered with a pat on his back as they made it to the parking lot. “You’ll be fine, dude.” 

__

“Easy for you to say, Mr. Married Man.” 

__

Stan snorted and shot Kyle a grin as he waved and disappeared towards his car. 

__

The wait was torturous without Lainey to fill it with words. 

__

Craig appeared like normal, and promised to drive carefully to make sure Kyle could keep up with his car. They wove down the streets and intersections before pulling into a car park for an apartment complex, and parted ways briefly so Kyle found find somewhere to park. 

__

He joined Craig at the back door to the building, green eyes scanning the place with a fluttering, almost nauseous feeling settle in his stomach. 

__

“Is this…?”

__

“My place,” Craig confirmed. “This way we can drink, and I don’t have to drive anywhere afterwards so if I get wasted I don’t need to ditch my bike somewhere sketchy.”

__

“Right,” Kyle nodded as he looked up at the apartment complex. “Your place. That’s…”

__

“Too much?”

__

“No!” Kyle assured. “No, it’s fine, this is good.”

__

Craig’s shoulders relaxed, and his brow smoothed out at Kyle’s words. “Cool. Follow me.” 

__

He was lead up the stairs, nerves rising with each step, before they made their way to the third floor and Craig opened the door. 

__

It was a nice size, one bedroom flat, with simple decorations that spoke volumes about the man who owned it. Craig encouraged him to sit down on the couch that had a black, fuzzy throw over the back, in front of a coffee table that looked custom painted, and a wide-screen TV with various gaming consoles. In the corner of the room there was exercise equipment that looked like the most-used part of the house. 

__

“Here,” Craig offered him a bottle. 

__

“Thanks.” 

__

He tried to relax as the other man sat down next to him and leant back into the sofa, taking a large swig from his own bottle. 

__

“You’ve got a nice place.” 

__

“Thanks. It’s not massive, but it’s all I need.” 

__

“Being a dancer must be...a lot of work,” Kyle settled on as he looked over at the equipment in the corner. “You run and then exercise from home too?” 

__

“Fifty percent of my time is practice and training, so, yeah, it’s a lot of work.” 

__

“How long have you done it for?” 

__

Craig let out a sigh as he placed his bottle on the coffee table. “A long time. Maybe when I was starting out for my first audition it was easier, but not so much anymore. I’m closing in on retirement age, now.” 

__

Kyle spun round with wide eyes. “How old do dancers retire?” 

__

“From dancing? Sometime in their thirties. I was serious when I said to Lainey I’d be more likely to be her choreographer. That’s...my plan, at least. I don’t want to separate from the theatre all together, but it’s so _tiring._ ” 

__

“So you’d still work for the theatre?” 

__

“I’d still work for the ballet company I’m with now. I think I’m going to make a better choreographer than dancer, and I’m a good dancer.” 

__

Kyle felt a smile twitch at the corners of his lips at the fierce look on Craig’s face. “You’re pretty confident.” 

__

“You saying I’m not a good dancer?” 

__

He felt a flush of nerves hit him again as those piercing eyes landed on him, but here in this comfortable apartment, without watching eyes, he wasn’t as stricken with stage-fright. “You are. I’m no expert, but even I could tell you were fucking amazing.” 

__

Craig flourished under the praise. 

__

"I feel like I never properly said thank you for the tickets,” Kyle looked down to the bottle in his hands as he spoke. “It meant a lot to Lainey, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.” 

__

Though that might’ve had something to do with who the dancer was, rather than how enjoyable ballet was. 

__

“It was nice to have you there,” Craig confirmed. “I don’t...make a habit out of inviting the parents to my performances. I hope you haven’t told any of the vultures, if you’re scared of them. They might descend.” 

__

Kyle shivered at the thought. “No, I kept it to myself. Lainey probably told everyone though.” 

__

Craig laughed. “She’s a bit of a chatterbox.” 

__

“A bit?” 

__

“A lot.” 

__

Kyle scoffed. “She’s always been like that. We keep waiting for her to meet someone she’s not willing to be friendly with.” 

__

“You must be proud of her.” 

__

“I am. She’s not my real niece, but it feels like she is a lot. I grew up with her dad. We’ve been joined at the hip since we were kids. I live close to them still now. I must be the only single guy in the whole neighborhood, surrounded by families.” 

__

Craig snorted. “No wonder you’re always on babysitting duty.” 

__

“Yeah, she’s not the only kid I get lumped with sometimes.” 

__

He had been worried it would be difficult to talk, without Lainey there. Without her to speak for him when his nerves got him tongue-tied, or to bridge the gap between them and fill the lack of shared-interests with mindless conversation. 

__

But history wasn’t all of what Kyle was, and ballet wasn’t all of what Craig was. 

__

He understood a little more about what the man meant, when he said he tried to be nice in front of the kids. Without Lainey there, Craig seemed a bit more willing to be looser with his tongue, barbs and condescending scoffs when they spoke of some of the other parents and kids in his class. 

__

Three bottles each in, the barbs were pointed at Kyle, with a smirk that promised they weren’t as malicious as they may have sounded. 

__

“Lainey was right. You really do use bad words all the time.” 

__

“I’m not that bad!” he defended weakly as he took another sip of his drink. “I feel like I store them all up when I’m around all those fucking parents judging me for saying ‘damn’ too often.” 

__

Craig sniggered. “Must be worse for you, living in the family haven.” 

__

“It’s nice to relax without feeling like an imposter-parent,” Kyle admitted as he leant back into the couch. “Thanks, for this.” 

__

“It’s nice to finally get you alone.” 

__

He flushed at the words and looked up to see a soft smirk on Craig’s face, grey eyes half-lidded as they looked down at him. 

__

“Cheers to being able to take the kids back to their real parents, and not having to do it all the time,” Craig offered. 

__

Kyle laughed and raised his bottle, clinking it against Craig’s. “Fuck yeah, I’ll drink to that.” 

__

They drained the rest of their drinks, empty bottles on the coffee table joining the others, and Kyle felt the rush of the day catching up to him. 

__

“I really ought to leave,” he admitted as he glanced at his phone. “I do have a class to teach tomorrow.” 

__

“What time?” 

__

“Noon-ish?” he shrugged. “So I can sleep in, but I still have to be kind of presentable.” 

__

“You can crash here on the couch, if you want.” 

__

“I-I couldn’t-?” 

__

“You could,” Craig stood, tone in his voice declaring the decision had been made. “Don’t want you getting in trouble for driving after drinking.” 

__

Kyle let out a huff through his lopsided smile. “You planned this.” 

__

“Maybe. Wait here, I’ll get you a blanket or something.” 

__

He watched the man leave the room. Watched the way his hips moved when he walked, the way his trousers hugged his calves. Covered his steadily warming face with his hands as he let the night properly sink into his brain and accepted the fact he was here, in Craig’s apartment, about to sleep on his couch. 

__

If the way Craig spoke to him was any indication, Nichole was right. Maybe his type was dull college professors. 

__

Craig returned with a large, plush cover and Kyle stood to accept it. He pointed out his bathroom and offered to get Kyle a drink of water or something before they went to sleep. 

__

Kyle was too busy studying how much taller a few inches made Craig compared to him to really absorb any of the words. 

__

“You’re still pretty nice,” Kyle murmured, speaking without thought and catching Craig off guard. “Even though there’s no kids around.” 

__

“Yeah, well,” Craig shrugged it off, despite the embarrassment tainting his expression. “I guess I’m nice to people I like.” 

__

It was all the confirmation that Kyle needed. 

__

He stepped forward as he took the blanket, but didn’t stop. He kept moving, leaning up those few extra inches as his eyes slipped shut and he fought against his nerves. 

__

The kiss was brief. He had been aiming for the corner of Craig’s lips, but didn’t quite get there. Landed a little more center than planned. He couldn’t say he minded. 

__

He felt his face surge with heat as he pulled back, managing to get a smile on his face through his embarrassment. 

__

“Thanks,” he raised the blanket he’d been given. 

__

“Sure…” Craig murmured, eyes darting from Kyle’s eyes down to his lips. 

__

“Well, goodnight then.”

__

“Kyle…?”

__

He startled at his name. “What?”

__

“Do you maybe wanna go out on a date sometime?”

__

He felt a smile begin to spread across his face at the question. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

__

“Right,” Craig licked his lips, and Kyle followed his tongue. “We can talk about it tomorrow. I’ll text you, if you’re gone before I wake up.”

__

“Sure. I’ll look forward to it.”

__

He wasn’t disappointed as Craig dipped forward this time, pressing another, firmer kiss against Kyle’s lips, leaving him dizzy from the feeling. He leant into the warm touch that was over far too soon. 

__

“Goodnight.”

__

Like that he was gone, turning and walking towards the bedroom, leaving Kyle reeling in his wake. He fell back onto the couch with the blanket on his stomach, staring up at the ceiling and wondering exactly how strong the bottles of alcohol that Craig had plied him with were to boost his confidence like that. 

__

Maybe it was just from being in a different place to normal. Left him feeling like he could do something usual too. 

__

He did leave before Craig woke up. Managed to find paper and a pen to leave a note on the table saying thank you. Told Craig to text him once he was awake. 

__

Once his lecture was over and his class was leaving, he pulled out his phone to see a response. 

__

\--

__

Sunday afternoon saw him in the Marsh kitchen, Stan in the garden playing with Lainey and a couple of the other neighborhood kids while he helped Nichole prepare dinner. He was peeling potatoes as she got the chicken ready and they talked away about nothing. It was like any other afternoon. 

__

Like any other afternoon the topic of babysitting came up, Nichole asking the question lightly like she always did, and Kyle prepared to give his answer, preparing himself for her smug face. 

__

“Are you free on Friday? We need someone to babysit Lainey.”

__

“I am not,” he admitted. “I have plans.”

__

Nichole stopped, raised a single brow, and repeated: “You have plans? On Friday?”

__

“You don’t need to say it like that,” Kyle said with a flush. “It’s not like I never do anything on Friday.”

__

“I suppose. What are your plans, then?”

__

“Just, you know, plans.”

__

“Are your plans…”

__

He looked up, seeing her lips pulling into a pout as her head tilted to the side and she raised her brows expectantly.

__

“I have a date,” he confirmed, smile creeping onto his face despite his embarrassment.

__

“You do?!” she gave him a shove. “I told you he was into you.”

__

“I never said it was with Craig.”

__

“Oh, please, like there’s any other people you’ve met recently.”

__

“Okay, fine, it is, yes, so you can find someone else to babysit for you.”

__

“You sure you don’t want to take her with you? She’s very used to playing third wheel to you two.”

__

“What happened to ‘you’re going to give her a complex’?”

__

“I’ll change my mind if it’s convenient for me.” 

__

She poked and probed and gloated all the way through preparing dinner. She even made a big deal of it when Stan came in, spinning round to announce how she had _successfully meddled_ in his life. Stan rolled his eyes and covered her mouth with his hand, turning to Kyle and apologizing for his ‘bored, suburban wife, who really needs a new hobby’. 

__

Thursday they still went for ice-creams with Lainey, who talked non-stop through the whole thing. She had plenty of time to, seeing as the two men were too busy sneaking glances and thrumming with nervous, excited energy at the promise that they were due to go out the very next night. 

__

It didn’t surprise Kyle that once they did have their first date that powerful, intense dancer was every bit of a force to be reckoned with, in all the best ways. He finally got to find out where that damned tattoo was hidden, too. 

__

**Author's Note:**

> MY MASTERPIECE. 
> 
> I HAVE PEAKED. 
> 
> START THE YEAR OFF RIGHT BBYYYY LET'S GO. 
> 
> I'm so desperate to go to the theatre usually I go see like 4 ballets every year and last year I didn't see a single one and I'm not DUE AT THE THEATRE AGAIN UNTIL OCTOBER (to see Book of Mormon!)


End file.
